AUSTIN — Lovebirds wishing to tie the knot would pay $100 for a marriage license under a bill the Texas House tentatively passed Wednesday, unless they took a prenuptial class on how to behave as a spouse.

Before the 78-63 vote, furor among Democrats and rebellious Republicans over the marriage fee hike prompted the bill's author to promise he'll merely double the current $30 fee before a final vote today. Applicants taking the classes would get free marriage licenses.

Even with final House approval, though, the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where it must find a sponsor to get a floor debate.

Debate in the House lasted more than two hours and touched on the wisdom of no-fault divorces, poverty and broken marriages, government intrusion into private lives and whether a new "marriage tax" hike violates the state Republican Party platform.

Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, stressed that his House Bill 2685 urges couples to undergo an eight-hour marriage education class because children of never-married or divorced parents are more likely to be poor.

"It's encouragement for them to go there," Chisum said. "Our issue here today is to keep marriages solid and have them last longer and stop this 50 percent divorce rate."

Chisum called the bill a first step toward ending the high divorce rate in Texas and beginning to address the "no-fault divorce issue, which is leaving children without mothers and fathers. ... Even Ronald Reagan said the no-fault divorce was the worst thing he did in government."

Levity on the House floor

Not all of his fellow Republicans were so enamored of marriage. In a moment of levity, Rep. Pat Haggerty, R-El Paso, quipped, "The bill says those that are married live longer. It's not really true. It just seems longer."

Haggerty had proposed an amendment in jest saying all members of the Legislature must take an eight-hour marriage education course.

When another lawmaker suggested an exemption for House members married 25 years or more, twice-divorced Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, said if he added up both of his marriages, "I can get over that hump."

The issue is important at the core for Republicans embracing the ideas of the Texas Conservative Coalition, which is supporting a package of seven "healthy marriage" bills this year.

Its "Saving Money, Saving Families" report in February argued that "stronger marriages and families will further alleviate reliance on state assistance."

Some of the coalition-backed bills would require couples seeking a divorce to attend a 10-hour, intensive marriage crisis class within a 48-hour period. If they choose not to take the class, under another Chisum bill, they would have to wait two years for a divorce to be final.

The House added an amendment, 88-54, by San Antonio Democratic Rep. Mike Villarreal that requires the state to pick up the tab if fees don't cover a county's cost of issuing marriage licenses. Chisum had opposed the amendment, saying it would burden the state with the possibility of auditing all 254 counties.

When Democrats suggested $100 was more than some young couples could afford to pay for a marriage license, Chisum shot back, "I would suggest if you don't have $100, folks shouldn't get married."

Chisum's bill is also tied to a funding bill the House also passed Wednesday. It would help low-income couples pay for marriage preparation classes by tapping into nearly $10 billion of a federal welfare grant.

For some lawmakers, the issue is about whether families or government should set personal moral standards.

"I guess it's the libertarian in me that says you don't take a price hike to coerce anyone into taking a course," said Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston. "You're being asked to do something you may not believe in."